Method for guaranteeing a device minimum bandwidth on a USB bus

Abstract

A method of guaranteeing a minimum sustained data transfer rate to a chosen device connected to a USB bus. A set of filter drivers are inserted in the driver stacks for at least two USB devices. These filter drivers are controlled by a filter driver controller that provides and receives information from the filter drivers. When a particular device needs a minimum sustained bandwidth for a transaction, the filter driver for that device notifies the filter driver controller. The filter driver controller then instructs the filter drivers for at least one other device to start interfering with USB transactions. This interference prevents the interfered with devices from using any of the USB bus bandwidth thereby providing a minimum sustained bandwidth to the non-interfered with device.

1 - 23 . (cancelled)  
   
   
       24 . An apparatus for providing a minimum sustained data rate across a USB bus, comprising: 
 a bandwidth filter driver associated with a device; and,    a chosen device bandwidth filter driver, wherein said chosen device bandwidth filter causes said bandwidth filter driver to transmit at least one signal indicating that said device is not connected to said USB bus regardless of whether said device is connected to said USB bus.    
   
   
       25 . An apparatus for providing a minimum sustained data rate across a USB bus, comprising: 
 a bandwidth filter driver associated with a device; and,    a chosen device bandwidth filter driver, wherein said chosen device bandwidth filter causes said bandwidth filter driver to transmit at least one signal indicating that an error condition exists on said device, whether or not an error exists on said device.